The One With The Monkey
"The One With The Monkey" is the tenth episode of the first season of Friends, which aired on NBC on December 15, 1994. Plot The holidays are coming, and Ross introduces the guys to his new roommate, Marcel the monkey. Meanwhile, Chandler proposes a no-date New Year's Eve, about which no one is really enthusiastic. In the middle of her "suicidal" performance (apt enough, as twelve of thirteen songs are about her mother's suicide), Phoebe notices two guys, Max and David, whose talking is disrupting her singing. It turns out they were discussing Phoebe's attractiveness and David thinks she is particularly cute, which is enough for her to start dating him. Phoebe wants to bring David to the New Year's party at Monica's, but the guys find it annoying, as this will break the no-date promise. Ironically, Chandler is the first to break the pact by inviting Janice. After talking it out with him, Phoebe gets David to kiss her. Eventually, what with Rachel's Paolo catching an earlier flight, Monica inviting Fun Bobby, and Joey hooking up with Sandy, Ross is the only one without a date for the Dick Clark festivity. Max interrupts the group with news--he and David have gotten the grant, full expenses paid, for research in Minsk for three years--and the departure date is January 1. However, David is not sure whether to go because of Phoebe, and when he asks her to decide for him, she makes him stay. At the party, almost everyone is with their dates, but plans are not nearly as good as expected: Joey's date has brought her two children, so that he couldn't kiss her without them watching, and then she ends up with Max; Janice continually exhibits the features that made Chandler dump her in the first place; Rachel's Paolo misses his flight and Rachel is beaten up by a woman; following his grandfather's very recent death, Fun Bobby is far from fun; and Ross brings Marcel but the monkey ditches him. Just as Phoebe's night promises to be a good one, Max reveals to David how despite David's decision to stay, he's still going to Minsk. Broken-heartedly, Phoebe tells David she believes he belongs in Minsk, and he'll have to go to fulfill his career. David doesn't know how to break up with her, so she has to teach him that, too. David does, however, promise her that he won't forget her, and that he loves her. Phoebe replies that she will miss him. The friends find themselves keeping the promise they all strove hard to break--each is alone at the start of the new year. Nobody is in the mood to kiss anyone, but Chandler is moaning that he has no one to kiss and Joey kisses him to shut him up. Cast and Crew Main Cast Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green Courteney Cox - Monica Geller Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing David Schwimmer - Ross Geller Supporting Cast Hank Azaria - David Vincent Ventresca - Fun Bobby Wayne Pére - Max Sarah MacDonnell - Sandy Maggie Wheeler - Janice Hosenstein Dick Clark - Himself (uncredited) Katie - Marcel the Monkey (uncredited) James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited) Crew Directed By: Peter Bonerz Written By: Adam Chase & Ira Ungerleider Trivia General *This is the first appearance of Fun Bobby and David in the series. *This is also the first appearance of Ross's monkey, Marcel. *This is one of two New Year's Eve parties the gang host; the second takes place during "The One With All The Resolutions" (S5E11) *The song that plays during the party is "Shiny Happy People" (1991) by R.E.M. *This is the first time in the series that Chandler reunites with Janice. They later briefly reunite in "The One With The Candy Hearts" (S1E14), and start a relationship in "The One With Barry And Mindy's Wedding" (S2E24). *This episode is the first to feature a shot of a kiss between two same-sex people (Chandler and Joey). **The first episode to feature a shot of a kiss between two women is "The One With Ross' Wedding, Part 1" (S4E23), where Monica and Phoebe have a quick peck on the lips. The first full-lipped girl-girl kiss takes place in "The One With Rachel's Big Kiss" (S7E20), where Rachel kisses Melissa (guest star Winona Ryder). *Max says that Minsk is in Russia but is actually in Belarus. However, Minsk only officially became the capital of the Republic of Belarus in 1991, and the episode takes place on December 31, 1994, three years later. So it is possible Max was confused when he said that Minsk is in Russia. **However, Phoebe also implied that Minsk was in Russia when she said "I know" in response to Max, and later throughout the series, multiple people say the same thing. **When the writers were in school, Minsk was in the Soviet Union, for which Russia was a synonym. Many things changed when the USSR dissolved in December 1991. * Chandler mentions getting bitten by a peacock, which was first mentioned by Phoebe in "The One With The Blackout" (S1E7). *In this episode, Phoebe and Chandler are seen decorating Monica's tree, but in "The One With The Routine" (S6E10), Ross suggests that Monica never lets people help decorate her tree when he says "Wow, Monica's letting other people help decorate her tree! Did someone get her drunk again?" *Max tells Phoebe that the trip to Minsk is for three years; however David doesn't resurface until much later in the series. *In the uncut DVD version of the episode, extra scenes during the party include Monica and Phoebe helping Rachel get ready for the party in her bedroom, Monica telling Fun Bobby she knows how he feels about losing a grandparent but asking him to stop dragging the party down, and Rachel trying to start a conversation with a guy at the party and spitting her wine due to her fat lip. Memorable Quotes *enters the room with a monkey on his shoulder' Chandler': "Look, that monkey got a Ross on his ass." *enters the room while wearing an elf's costume Chandler: "Too many jokes! Must mock Joey!" *'Ross': "It's hard to accept that something that you love so much doesn't love you back." Episode Navigation Category:Friends Category:Season 1 Category:Friends Episodes